Toivo Samuel Mabote, a member of the Mozambican Astronomy Association (AMAS), took part in the AFAS Hackathon 2024 in Morocco and was part of the winning group. 

The initiative is a 48-hour immersion in the search for progress in the dissemination and use of data science and development skills, using various machine learning techniques to solve everyday problems.

"Developing data science skills from science and using these skills to tackle development challenges," reads the official website, quoted by the Kabum digital portal.

Toivo Mabote came to this hackathon after taking part in the fourth annual conference of the African Astronomical Society (AFAS), held in Marrakesh, Morocco, in April. During the last few days of the event, he found out about it and decided to take part, even though he had planned to return to Mozambique.

"It was a challenging and enriching experience. Being in such a diverse environment, with people from different cultures and backgrounds, was a unique opportunity," she said in an interview.

The group was made up of three other members from different countries (Senegal, Kenya, Morocco), with backgrounds in different areas such as Electronic Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Web Development, and he with a background in Astrophysics.

During his participation, where he led the team, he reveals that they were able to combine technical and scientific skills to develop an innovative solution that enabled them to take the podium in the competition.

For the group, the achievement was the result of their ability to reconcile science and technology. While other groups focused solely on developing powerful machine learning models, they prioritized building a scientifically consistent solution.

In addition, the young man highlights his ability to work under pressure and his determination to achieve a common goal in order to stand out among the other competitors.

"By combining our skills and knowledge, we were able to create a solution that was both accurate and scientifically functional, which ensured that we won the hackathon," he said.

From this participation, Toivo learned that "even in challenging situations, it is possible to achieve excellent results when there is collaboration and commitment among team members," he says, reaffirming the importance of teamwork for the success of complex projects.

Hack4dev is a collaboration between the Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA), DARA Big Data funded by the UK's Newton Fund, the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) representing South Africa's Department of Science and Innovation and the International Astronomical Union's Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD).